GENERAL INFORMATION

Full-Time Employees
Membership in a contributory retirement system is mandatory for nearly all public employees who are regularly employed on a full-time basis.

Part-Time and Other Employees
Each retirement board exercises full jurisdiction to determine an employee's eligibility for membership in cases involving part-time, provisional, temporary provisional, seasonal, or intermittent employment or service.

Non-members
Certain part-time, seasonal, or temporary employees who are ineligible for membership may be required to participate in an alternative plan.

For whom is membership
optional?

Membership is optional for certain individuals:

• elected officials,
• state officials appointed by the governor, and
• dentists or physicians employed as hospital interns may elect to become members within 90 days of commencement of service.

Who is excluded from membership?

Except in very limited circumstances, persons who are retired from one of the 105 public retirement systems in Massachusetts cannot join another Massachusetts public retirement system. You may also be excluded if you are paid through a federal grant for a position for which you are required to be a member of the Federal Civil Service Retirement System.

Please Note
You are not barred from membership if you previously worked under the Federal Civil Service Retirement System. If you receive retirement benefits from the Federal Civil Service Retirement System and also from a retirement system under Chapter 32, the latter benefit will be limited to a certain maximum.

Discretion
As noted above, a retirement board has the discretion to exclude from membership part-time, provisional, temporary, temporary provisional, seasonal or intermittent employees.

MEMBERSHIP
STATUS

Membership status is defined in two ways in the retirement law: "member-in-service," and "member-inactive."

Member-in-Service
Any member who is regularly employed in the performance of his or her duties is considered a member-in-service. Member-in-service status will continue until death or until separation becomes effective by reason of retirement, resignation, failure of re-election or re-appointment, or removal or discharge from office or position.

Member-Inactive
Members-in-service become members-inactive when they:
• retire and receive a retirement allowance; or
• when their employment has been terminated and they are entitled to any present or potential retirement allowance or a return of accumulated deductions; or
• when they are on an authorized leave of absence without pay for a reason other than retirement board duties or mental or physical incapacity for duty which extends for more than a year; or
• upon the expiration of their term if they are elected officials who are not re-elected.

DUAL
MEMBERSHIP

What if I
am employed by more than one governmental
unit?

Special rules apply if you are concurrently employed by two or more governmental units which have established contributory retirement systems subject to the provisions of Chapter 32. You may, subject to the boards' rules, become a member of each system, with appropriate deductions being taken from each payroll. Depending on a variety of factors, you may be eligible to receive a retirement allowance from each system, or a retirement allowance comprised of the years and regular compensation you have earned from both systems together.

When may my service for two different retirement systems be combined together into one
retirement allowance?

In very limited circumstances. In order for an individual to receive a retirement allowance of this type, one of two factors must be present:
• A member had ten years in each of the systems prior to January 1, 2010; or
• There was never any concurrent service on or after January 1, 2010.

If I am eligible for an allowance of this type, will my total benefit be twice as large as that received by someone employed by one governmental unit?

No. If you are eligible for the combined type of allowance, the total benefit received from such dual membership cannot exceed the amount you would have received had your total regular compensation been received from a single governmental unit. You cannot be credited with more than one year of creditable service during any one calendar year.

Example
For example, an employee who has membership in two systems, with six months of service in one system and 12 months of service in another system, and the service is concurrent, will be credited with 12 months of service, not 18. The boards of the systems involved will determine how much creditable service shall be allowed by each board, subject to the approval of PERAC.

What if I do not meet the requirements, and cannot have dual membership service combined when I retire?

If that is the case, then you would be entitled to be retired from the two retirement systems separately, or would be entitled to retire from one of the systems and get your money returned to you from the other system.

Can I retire from one governmental unit but continue to be employed by another governmental unit?

You may terminate your service and apply for a retirement allowance in one system and continue in a second. However, no pension or retirement allowance shall become effective on account of your service in the first system until the date that you terminate service in the second.

Are there special provisions for dual members after January 1, 2010?

As noted above, in 2009 a different calculation formula was established as a part of Pension Reform. Under this formula a dual member would be paid an allowance that is calculated as if his or her employment was solely in each position with each benefit separately calculated. The limitation does not apply to persons who were vested (having been granted ten years of creditable service in each of two or more systems) as of January 1, 2010. It also does not apply to any member who does not receive regular compensation from each of two or more units concurrently on or after January 1, 2010.

Dual Membership: Disability Retirement from One System

If you are eligible to receive a disability retirement from one system, your disability pension or retirement allowance will not become effective until you terminate your service from the second system. Until such termination, you will be required to waive the receipt of your disability benefit.

TRANSFER
OF SERVICE AND DEDUCTIONS

What effect does transferring have on creditable service and accumulated total deductions?

Career Changes
Career changes of public employees may entail a transfer from a job presently held to a new job in a different governmental unit within a different retirement system. The accumulated total deductions and corresponding creditable service of members involved in such a change must be transferred from the former retirement system to the new retirement system, except in certain circumstances involving concurrent service on or after January 1, 2010.

Retirement
After a Transfer of Service
When members who have transferred receive a retirement allowance, the entire amount will be paid by the retirement system from which they retire. The retirement system of which he or she was formerly a member will reimburse the current retirement system for the portion of the retirement allowance that is based on his or her previous service. Of note, in circumstances involving dual members who had concurrent service on or after January 1, 2010, such a transfer will not take place.

STATEMENTS
OF SERVICE

Must I furnish my retirement board with information about any past public sector employment?

Yes. Within one year of becoming a member of a public employee retirement system, (whether you have been restored or reinstated to public service or you have transferred or re-established membership), you must file a detailed statement of all the public service that you have rendered for which you wish to claim credit.

Will my retirement board verify my prior service?

Yes. Within six months of receipt of your statement of service, your retirement board will review and verify all the service that you claim.

Creditable
Service
If the retirement board determines that you are entitled to creditable service for which you have not yet made make-up payments, the retirement board will inform you in writing of your right to purchase all or part of such service. If you do elect to purchase service, your retirement board may either allow you to make a lump sum payment or establish an installment plan.

Board Review
at Retirement
At the time you retire, your retirement board is charged with the responsibility of again reviewing your statement of service and again informing you in writing of your right to purchase service.